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DriveAbility
DriveAbility represents WTW's progression from institutional advisor to fiduciary investment manager, reflecting a broader industry shift where large...
DriveAbility
DriveAbility represents WTW's progression from institutional advisor to fiduciary investment manager, reflecting a broader industry shift where large consultants increasingly operate OCIO and delegated solutions. The platform emerged as part of WTW's Investments business, which had roughly $170 billion in assets under advisement and over $100 billion in discretionary management globally before WTW's broader strategic pivot. Delegated investment portfolios leverage manager research, strategic tilts, and risk management tools developed within WTW's advisory ecosystem. The firm's investment approach favors building efficient, cost-conscious portfolios using both active and passive allocations, private market commitments, and direct implementation strategies. While specific holdings are not disclosed, access includes institutional-quality fixed income, equity, alternatives, and sustainable mandates. Geographic coverage is global, with execution capabilities concentrated in the UK, North America and European institutional markets. WTW's broader restructuring and capital allocation decisions—including the sale of its reinsurance broker, Willis Re, and ongoing repositioning of its health and benefits businesses—frame DriveAbility's operational context. DriveAbility functions without a standalone public team count or ring-fenced AUM, operating within WTW's governance and the fiduciary oversight of the Investments leadership. DriveAbility's distinction lies not in a novel asset class focus but in its architecture: a delegated OCIO model embedded within a publicly traded consultancy, aligning manager selection, actuarial risk analytics, and portfolio implementation under one fiduciary umbrella. This structure gives institutional clients—particularly pension trustees and mid-sized insurers—a single-contract path to outsourced strategic asset allocation, a model that differs from both multi-asset fund offerings and standalone OCIO boutiques.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
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AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
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Country
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City
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Corporate office
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Frequently asked questions
What is DriveAbility's relationship to Willis Towers Watson (WTW)?
DriveAbility is a delegated investment capability within WTW, the global advisory, broking, and solutions company. It is not a separate legal entity but an investment platform housed inside WTW's Investments business, which provides OCIO and fiduciary management services to institutional clients. WTW's advisory heritage in actuarial science and manager research provides the analytical foundation for DriveAbility's portfolio construction.
How does DriveAbility fit into WTW's broader business model?
DriveAbility sits within WTW's Investment, Risk & Reinsurance segment, functioning as a pathway for institutional clients to delegate full strategic asset allocation and implementation to WTW as a fiduciary manager. This represents a step beyond traditional investment consulting—clients transition from receiving advice to having WTW manage assets on a discretionary basis using the same research and risk frameworks.
What types of institutional clients use DriveAbility?
WTW's delegated investment services, operating under the DriveAbility name, serve pension funds, insurers, and other institutional asset owners predominantly in the UK, North America, and continental Europe. The offering is particularly relevant for mid-sized pension schemes seeking integrated actuarial, investment, and risk-transfer advice alongside delegated portfolio management.
How is DriveAbility's investment approach different from other OCIO providers?
DriveAbility integrates manager research, actuarial liability modeling, and strategic tilting into one delegated framework—a combination rooted in WTW's multi-decade advisory consulting business. Portfolios are built using WTW's proprietary capital market assumptions and regularly incorporate sustainability overlays and cost-efficient implementation via passive vehicles or direct mandates, although specific allocations are not publicly detailed.
Does DriveAbility make direct investments or use external managers?
DriveAbility implements primarily through external managers—both active and passive—selected via WTW's extensive manager research platform. It uses a mix of commingled funds, segregated mandates, and growing direct access points in private markets, but does not typically operate as a direct principal investor originating proprietary corporate positions.
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